1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns generally food products and relates, more particularly, to a method for preparing products suitable for partially or completely replacing used for manufacturing chocolate-trade products, particularly based on cocoa and chocolate or including products replacing cocoa and pastes to be frozen. It also relates to the new thus obtained products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the present techniques for manufacturing chocolate-trade products comprising chocolate, cocoa or products replacing cocoa, powdery, partially or fully skimmed milk is used. In order to obtain this milk powder, generally a cylinder drying process is used, employing a drying device with two close cylinders, rotating in reverse direction and internally heated by steam. Milk falls between both cylinders and is uniformly spread on their surface. Consequently, the drying is fast with milk forming a film which is removed by a doctor knife.
This cylinder drying method presents however many drawbacks. It is costly from the energy viewpoint, and, consequently, small size plants are used moreover, the quality of the products is not always uniform and, sometimes, overheating at points producing bad tastes which remain in the products.
There are other drying processes, particularly the so-called Spray process which is less costly and uses a technique easier to control than the cylinder drying process. The Spray process has been employed for manufacturing full milk or skim milk powder, which can be incorporated within chocolate-trade products. However, this process results in problems because the powder does not perform well in the chocolate-trade due to its particle size and the shape of its particles, and because of the small denaturation of proteins. Moreover, when full milk is employed, the thus obtained product results in problems, particularly because of its free fatty material rate.
It would be therefore useful to provide a method for preparing products which will replace dry milk produced by the cylinder drying method, used in the manufacture of products on basis of cocoa and chocolate, or with products replacing cocoa; and pastes to be frozen, this process overcoming the drawbacks of the cylinder drying process.